differences
by mreddy817
Summary: I know a lot of people just assume that muggle-borns all have parents who are very supportive and unnaturally trusting of these people they don't even know. This is how I think it should have gone.
1. Default Chapter

Mr. Evans placed the key into the hole and turned the  
  
knob. All the members of the Evans family collapsed  
  
inside with the suitcases. They had just returned from  
  
a long trip to the Americas to visit some relatives, and  
  
everyone was jetlagged. Mrs. Evans collected the  
  
stack of mail that the housekeeper, Ronai ( who told  
  
Lily stories every night) , had gathered and placed in a  
  
stack in the foyer. Everyone  
  
went into the living room, Mrs. Evans flicking through  
  
the mail and sorting out the junk.  
  
Even though it was just past midnight, the  
  
whole family was wide awake, except for Lily, who  
  
couldn't really help drifting off to sleep. Despite her  
  
drowsiness, she was alert enough to notice her  
  
mother give an odd look and a snort of laughter to a  
  
thick envelope and throw it into the steadily rising pile  
  
of junk-mail. On the front, in emerald-green ink and  
  
very loopy handwriting, was her name- Lily did a  
  
double-take. What? She never got mail. Petunia  
  
made sure of that. She was quite the bully at their  
  
school, teasing Lily, and nobody ever wanted to  
  
disagree with her. She scrambled over beside her  
  
mother, her bright red braid bouncing.  
  
"Mum- would you mind if I took a look at  
  
this?" Her mother didn't even giver her a glance.  
  
"Mm-hmm, dear." Lily took it and went over  
  
to her usual perch on the piano bench. Lily gazed  
  
down at the envelope in her hand.  
  
Lilian Evans Number 12 Privet Drive, Surrey  
  
She bit her lip and glanced around. She could see her  
  
little brother, Harry, fast asleep on their father's lap.  
  
Petunia was reading some magazine on the couch.  
  
She carefully tore open the envelope and pulled quite  
  
a few wads of parchment.  
  
She raised her eyebrows. At the top of the  
  
piece of parchment was this thing about some guy  
  
called Albus Dumbledore. She looked further down  
  
the page and saw that he was apparently the  
  
headmaster of the school that had sent the letter-  
  
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This is  
  
really weird Lily thought. Probably somebody playing a  
  
prank. She flipped the pages and saw the craziest  
  
supply lists ever! Cloaks, and cauldrons... Who would  
  
buy this junk? She sighed, getting up and giving her  
  
mother a goodnight hug. She went upstairs to her  
  
bedroom, and realized that she still had the envelope  
  
in her hand. She tossed it onto her desk and changed  
  
for bed. What a joke...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Lily woke the next morning to the sudden  
  
shrieks of her sister, Petunia. She immediately sat  
  
up in her bed, and the door to her bedroom flew open.  
  
"what is this?" she asked, enraged,  
  
holding up large piece of paper. "They were all inside  
  
my bureau this morning!"  
  
"I dunno..." Lily mumbled, groggily  
  
climbing out of bed. She yawned and took the  
  
envelope from her sister's hand. Her jaw dropped. It  
  
was yet another one of those mysterious envelopes.  
  
"Go get mum and dad."  
  
Petunia gave Lily a funny look and did her bidding. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lily and her parents had thrown the heap  
  
of letters into the bin days ago with an annoyed  
  
feeling. That whole magic school thing was  
  
completely outrageous, and they would probably stop  
  
soon. It was a waste of parchment, and the mailing  
  
would become expensive, she had thought. That is,  
  
until she opened the door that day after visiting her  
  
babysitter, Mrs. Figg, and found a heap of the same  
  
letters waiting for her.  
  
"Mum..." she said, turning to look at her  
  
bewildered mother.  
  
"What are all these?" she asked, amazed  
  
by the gargantuan pile. This continued for the next few  
  
days, until Mr. Evans snapped.  
  
"THAT'S IT! We should phone the post-  
  
office- or the police!"  
  
"Um- you know, dear- it would sound  
  
awfully crazy if we turn up with these letters... Maybe  
  
we should go find this place- you know- see who  
  
keeps on sending these letters," Mrs. Evans  
  
suggested.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
An hour later, they were in a car full of wearied Evans  
  
(four, to be exact, as Harry had stayed back with  
  
Ronai). They were off to find this "Diagon Alley" place,  
  
and with a somewhat manic-looking Mr. Evans who  
  
was known to never give up, the chance that they  
  
would be back by 6:00 (in time for Petunia's favorite  
  
soap opera) was very slim.  
  
Lily was seated in the back next to Petunia,  
  
who was flipping through yet another pointless  
  
magazine, only occasionally glancing out the windows  
  
of the car and giving superior sniff to the run-down  
  
looking shops. Lily coulnd't stand the silence.  
  
Everyone at her school considered her to be a "little-  
  
miss-prim-and-proper," and obviously knew nothing  
  
about Lily. She set her face against the cool window,  
  
letting her head bounce slightly as the car lurched  
  
through the odd neighbourhood. Suddenly, an  
  
impossibly lopsided building averted Lily's absent  
  
gaze. She crinkled her nose at it; she knew that she  
  
would reach her downfall through her uncontrollable  
  
curiosity. The car rumbled to a stop and Lily's father  
  
gave an exasperated sigh as he slowly proceeded to  
  
turn the car around. Lily lifted her head and saw an  
  
old carved sign swinging outside the door  
  
reading, "the Leaky Cauldron." In the dark windows  
  
was another sign reading, "This way to Diagon Alley  
  
- see Tom." Lily's eyes lit up.  
  
"Daddy! Dad! Look- there it is! Stop, stop!"  
  
"Where, Lily?" her mother asked wearily.  
  
"Right there, of course."  
  
"What? I don't see anything," Mr. Evans  
  
said. He yawned. "Today's Friday, yes, so first thing  
  
Monday morning I'm calling the police."  
  
HOpe you like it! Now... REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW Please? I'd really appreciate it! And please read the next chapter! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW 


	2. Fairy Tales?

Okay, People! Fairy Tales  
  
Lily seemed to be standing in a rather  
  
small cabin with oversized furniture. She stepped over  
  
to where she saw that three small children were  
  
crowded around a fireplace with a colossal and gruff-  
  
looking man. The children seemed around Lily's age.  
  
"Where did you get it, Hagrid?" a boy with  
  
flaming red hair, not unlike Lily's own, was leaning  
  
over and looking into the depths of a large kettle. "It  
  
must've cost you a fortune."  
  
"Won it," the man answered. "Las' night. I  
  
was down in the village havin' a few drinks an' I got  
  
into a game o' cards with a stranger. Think he was  
  
glad ter get rid of it, ter be honest."  
  
"But what are you going to do with it when  
  
it's hatched?" a girl with extraordinarily poufy hair  
  
asked in a worried tone. The giant walked a few  
  
steps to his bed and pulled out a book from under his  
  
pillow.  
  
"Well, I've bin doin' some reading'. Got  
  
this outta the Library- Dragon Breeding for Pleasure  
  
and Profit- it's a bit outta date, o' course, but it's all in  
  
here. Keep the egg in the fire, 'cause their mothers  
  
breathe on 'em, see, an' when it hatches, feed it ona  
  
bucket of brandy mixed with chicken blood every half  
  
hour-"the girl gagged as the red-haired boy pulled a  
  
face. "- An' see here- how ter recognize diff'rent eggs-  
  
what I got there's a Norwegian Ridgeback. They'r  
  
rare, them."  
  
He had an innocently pleased look on his face, unlike  
  
the girl. She looked rather enraged at the man's  
  
foolishness, although unwilling to show it. The red-  
  
haired boy grimaced, and then Lily turned to the next  
  
boy. For some reason, Lily's gaze stopped on him for a  
  
long time. The girl said, "But Hagrid, you live in a  
  
wooden house." As the man bustled over to the  
  
fireplace, humming merrily, Lily wondered why the boy  
  
with this last boy seemed so oddly familiar. He had  
  
extremely unruly black hair, and was about average  
  
height, although he was extremely skinny. It was his  
  
eyes. They were her own. They were the same  
  
startling green ones that looked back at her from the  
  
mirror, that nobody else in her family had. The  
  
surprising thing was that by looking at this boy, she  
  
saw the magic in her own eye, the glint that could  
  
never be reflected in a mirror. And then...  
  
"Lily," a soft voice whispered, the owner of which gently  
  
woke the girl. The girl with the flaming red hair turned  
  
over and groaned.  
  
"Please... one more minute, Ronai...  
  
T'was such a good dream," she sighed. The motherly-  
  
looking woman smiled and laughed.  
  
"But my dear, you must wake up! It is the  
  
last month of summer holiday, know? We are going to  
  
your grandparents' house!" When the girl did not  
  
move, the woman continued in her deep and soothing  
  
accent. "There will be a party, and it will be very grand,  
  
Lily. And- you will be able to wear your beautiful new  
  
dress!" Lily snorted. "I shan't tell you any more stories  
  
about the phoenix bird if you don't get up, Lily," she  
  
taunted. The girl shot out of bed and into the  
  
bathroom. Ronai gave a benign smile and walked out  
  
of the room. Lily remembered nothing of her dream.  
  
She did not even notice that the letter from a few nights  
  
before that she had set on her bureau was missing.  
  
As Lily hurriedly brushed her teeth, she  
  
though to herself. "I wonder what Ronai's story will  
  
be... I really want to hear more about that Dragon-  
  
what was it? A Nor-nor-North American Ride-on-  
  
Back? No...no- a Norwegian Ridgeback! That's it!"  
  
she thought with pride. She spat out her toothpaste  
  
and proceeded to wash her face.  
  
"I hope Petunia doesn't barge in on the  
  
story like last time..." she thought with a grimace.  
  
She had not heard the end of the story because her  
  
sister had complained that she wasn't getting her  
  
proper "beauty sleep." Lily liked to think that she  
  
always gave into this excuse because Petunia needed  
  
all the beauty sleep she could get with her looks. She  
  
grinned to herself, her bright green eyes twinkling with  
  
the smile of children with their own special treasure,  
  
all to themselves.  
  
She nimbly skipped out and slid down the  
  
sharply-twisting banister and landed gracefully on her  
  
toe. She did a small curtsy to her invisible  
  
crowd. "Thank you, thank you!" Lily did not know  
  
anyone else who could perform that particular feat.  
  
The staircase turned in such sudden places that any  
  
normal person would topple off. Everyone gaped in  
  
awe when Lily performed her trick, except for Ronai,  
  
who would get a wondering look upon her face.  
  
Much to Petunia's annoyance, Lily was at  
  
the top of everything, and although one would think,  
  
after getting to know the mischief-maker, that she  
  
would not like this, that was not the case, because after so many  
  
years of being unbeatable, she would not be capable  
  
of easily adjusting to second-best. As she was  
  
headed to a boarding school this year, where there  
  
were many girls, a few of which were probably cleverer  
  
than Lily, she would definitely have a problem.  
  
"Lily!" her mother and fathers' voices  
  
called through the halls. "Dearest- we must be going  
  
soon, after a light breakfast." Lily reached the kitchen,  
  
ruffled little Harry's red hair and plopped down next to  
  
her father. As Lily began to butter her toast, she  
  
noticed an interesting article in the paper. She picked  
  
it up and began to read it. At the top, it read,  
  
"Mysterious deaths all through London." Supposedly  
  
quite a few people had been killed with looks of terror  
  
upon their faces. Suddenly a hand snatched the  
  
paper from Lily.  
  
"Lily," Ronai chided. "You really don't want  
  
to go reading stories like that- they could give you  
  
nightmares, and you'll want to sleep in your parents  
  
room for the next month," Ronai said in concern. Lily  
  
went red as Ronai turned back. Despite Lily's trouble-  
  
making, scheming, and daring persona, when it came  
  
down to it, Lily was quite pathetic. She had to  
  
admit that she was really rather (what's a better way of  
  
saying wimpy?) when she imagined  
  
something bad happening to her when she wasn't  
  
able to defend herself. She glanced over at her father,  
  
who was gazing, puzzled, at the paper.  
  
"What- what are you talking about?"  
  
"That article, daddy."  
  
"The one about the bungee-jumping cat?  
  
Well, I don't really understand how you could be  
  
scared by that... I didn't think Lily had a fear of  
  
heights..." Lily crinkled her nose. What was her father  
  
talking about? There was absolutely nothing in the  
  
paper about any bungee-jumping cats. That was just  
  
stupid. She rolled her eyes. Sometimes her dad tried  
  
too hard to be funny. The next few weeks were bound  
  
to be boring as usual, as her grandparents seemed to  
  
enjoy bragging about them than actually talking to  
  
them.  
  
"Lily, would you mind fetching your sister,  
  
please?" her mother called absentmindedly as she  
  
flipped pancakes. "She needs to eat something  
  
before we leave." Lily obeyed and headed to the hall,  
  
glancing out the window.  
  
She stopped and frowned. Just a minute ago it had  
  
been perfectly sunny outside. She shook her head,  
  
confused, and almost ran into Petunia, her tall twin.  
  
She quickly sidestepped out of the way, tweaking her  
  
twin sister's nose tauntingly and said in her sing-song  
  
voice, "Petuuuuuunia, mummy wants you to eat your  
  
breakfast- she made pancakes, but I personally think  
  
that sugar cubes and carrots are better horse-food."  
  
"Ughhh- Shuttup, Lily, and let me through!" Lily pulled  
  
some of Petunia's limp dirty-blond hair, held together  
  
mostly by a vast quantity of hairpins. There was a  
  
minor scuffle, which Lily escaped by locking Petunia  
  
into the cupboard under the stairs.  
  
"Now, Petunia," Lily said, in her best mock-psychiatrist  
  
voice through the grate as she leant against the  
  
door, "why do you always feel the need to tease your  
  
sister? Is it because you feel insecure- or because  
  
you have some sort of an inferiority complex?  
  
Hmmm..." she feigned a thinking face as her sister  
  
grumbled and turned around in the closet. "Or maybe,  
  
you're just jeal-"at that moment, Petunia broke out,  
  
holding up a severely bent hairpin.  
  
"Now, tell me, Lily. What's there to be jealous of? Why  
  
do you always act so...weird? Is it because you are  
  
hiding your true self, or were you just born that way?"  
  
Lily took a deep breath and walked away. ( Hey- don't  
  
feel sorry for either of them- they both taunt each  
  
other - you can wait till later to decide whom you pity)  
  
"Dears- I don't think we'll be able to go today- there's a  
  
huge storm forecast... And d'you know- that's the  
  
oddest thing. I went out this morning to load the boot,  
  
and it was perfectly sunny..." her father said.  
  
"Well- you girls can go off and play, I suppose," Mrs.  
  
Evans said. Lily took hold of Ronai's hand and led her to the library, as was their own tradition. Ronai began her story.  
  
"All right, Lily. This story is about a giant- a giant named Rubeus who-"  
  
"I had a dream about a giant last night!"  
  
"Really?" Ronai asked. "Tell me about it."  
  
"hmm... to tell the truth, I honestly don't remember much..."  
  
"Nothing?"  
  
"Well- there was something about a dragon, I think...  
  
Yes! There was the giant who had smuggled  
  
the egg, I think..."  
  
"Hagrid..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"The man's name. Was it Hagrid?"  
  
"...Yes! That's it!-How'd you know that?"  
  
"Hagrid is a man I know. He's half-giant, and he is the  
  
gamekeeper at a school of magic. He's the sort of  
  
person who would smuggle a dragon egg into his  
  
cabin."  
  
"Ronai- you said that there are schools that teach  
  
magic." Ronai nodded solemnly. "Tell me about  
  
them."  
  
"Well- there's one in Scotland- well- nobody actually  
  
knows where it is, but I'm sure that it is in Scotland.  
  
When you're eleven years old, if you have magic in  
  
your blood, you are sent a letter, inviting you to go. You  
  
can learn to cast spells and all sorts of things. The  
  
headmaster is a kind old man named Albus  
  
Dumbledore. He has a phoenix for a pet."  
  
"Really? I wish I could go to a magic school..."  
  
"Why shouldn't you be able to go, Lily?"  
  
"Because there is no such thing!"  
  
"Nonsense! Lily- you received the letter. I  
  
found it on your bureau the other morning. They won't  
  
stop coming until you write back." There was a very  
  
weird silence. Just a few minutes ago, Lily had been  
  
wishing that fairy tales were real, and now that they  
  
were, she was sitting aghast with her mouth hanging  
  
open. Ronai pulled the letter out from within the  
  
depths of her apron and set it in Lily' s lap. It was one  
  
of the letters!  
  
"Lily- we must get your supplies and take you to  
  
school soon- or you may lose your chance to learn  
  
magic!"  
  
Lily was confused. Why hadn't Ronai ever told her  
  
before? "This has to be some sort of a mistake..."  
  
"No, Lily! Don't you understand? All the odd things  
  
that happen to you- they're because you are indeed  
  
different- you are different because you have magic in  
  
you!" There was yet another pause, and Ronai  
  
sighed. "Would you believe me if I told you that I went  
  
to Beauxbatons? Watch." Ronai pulled a long piece  
  
of wood out of her pocket and said some words. She  
  
tapped a small trinket on Lily's bedside table, and it  
  
turned into a large lamp. There was a pop and Ronai  
  
disappeared, only to reappear on Lily's other side. Lily  
  
was now cowering with fear, hidden under her  
  
blanket.  
  
"Lily," Ronai said gently. "Now do you understand? All  
  
the stories that I have ever told you are real." At this,  
  
Lily's eyes lit up.  
  
"Can I go?"  
  
"Of course- but your parents cannot know about this."  
  
"But how- that's impossible!"  
  
"Wizards and witches can do many things. Just you  
  
wait. You'll see at school."  
  
"But my parents would never pay for me to go to magic  
  
school!" The look in Ronai's eyes was a sad one.  
  
"Lily, I have no heir. I lost my children a long, long time  
  
ago. You are like a daughter to me, though, and I have  
  
enough money in my vault left from my Auror days to  
  
pay for a bit more than one person's schooling."  
  
"What's an Auror?"  
  
"They hunt down the dark wizards and put them in the  
  
wizard prison."  
  
"There are dark wizards?"  
  
"Of course. Anyone can be evil." There was a pause.  
  
"When do we go to get supplies and all without mum and dad finding out?"  
  
"Well, I changed the view through the windows, so  
  
your parents only think that there is a storm. I also  
  
bewitched the television, so the man says that there's a storm."  
  
"Wow..." Ronai laughed.  
  
"We could go today by Floo Powder. You can travel  
  
through the fireplaces. Come."  
  
Ronai led Lily to her quarters. Surprisingly, no one in  
  
the family had ever been in there.  
  
Lily was amazed when she entered. All the stuff from  
  
her fairy tales had been right there all along.  
  
Hope you guys liked this chapter! Lily meets Remus in the next one. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW PLEASE! C'mon, people! I'd really appreciate it! Please also read my other fic if you have time... please? PLEASE REVIEW! Pleeeeeease! 


	3. Meet Remus and the Rest

Chapter Three-Meet Remus  
  
Ronai muttered an incantation and the logs I the fireplace burst into flame. She then cast an odd powder into the fire, and the flames turned bright blue.  
Step inside, lily, and clearly say, 'Diagon Alley.'"  
Lily hesitated and looked up at Ronai, with a look on her face that asked for another way. Ronai shook her head and gestured towards the flames. Although this was a potentially fatal situation, and Ronai could be some crazy dude out to kill Lily who was only dressed up as Ronai to blackmail her parents yahdeeyahdeeyah, Lily decided that she trusted Ronani enough to take this chance. She obeyed rather unwillingly. She hugged her knees to her chest once she started to spin, and squeezed her eyes shut. She soon toppled out, hacking with the soot. In fact, she didn't even notice that there was someone standing right in front of her, and she knocked right into it.  
"Oh, sorry!" she said, nervously. The person turned around. It was a kind-looking boy with sandy hair and blue eyes- maybe a bit older than she. He waved his hand with a smile, as though brushing the whole incident away. That minute, Ronai gracefully stepped out of the fireplace.  
"Lily, come- we must go to the bank." For some reason, Ronai seemed more in place in this world, and what one would have considered to be her oddities back home seemed to make her elegant and experienced here. Lily turned from her and waved to the booy as she was led out of the building that she recognized as the Leaky Cauldron, and through a brick wall, and to the bank. It was a large marble building, and She looked up in awe at the huge sign saying, "Grignotts." She was pulled past a sign with some sort of rhyme on it and through large doors. "Come, Lily." Ronai said. "Now, don't be afraid of the goblins-they're harmless," she said as Lily hid herself in the folds of Ronai's huge skirts (bit of an old-fashioned thing- so no, I'm not crazy- and Lily's not so tall, but Ronai is). They proceeded to one of the counters and Ronai spoke boldly with the goblin.  
"Could I please go to vault 793?"  
"Hmmm..." the goblin said. "Ronai Aadrika... Haven't seen you around these parts in a long while," it said with just a trace of smugness on his face. Lily saw something twitch in Ronai's face.  
"Important business, Griphook-none of which is yours."  
"Not meaning any offense, madame..." he said in the goblin drawl, holding his clawed hands up in innocence. "This way." And they followed the goblin, who was but an inch or so taller than Lily, into a cart.  
"Hold on tight, Lily!" Ronai said, as she was obviously afraid. Lily enjoyed the breakneck journey through the underground vaults. Finally, they reached vault seven hundred ninety-three. Ronai looked a tad tipsy, but made it out of the carriage.  
The goblin dragged one of its spindly fingers down the door, and it dissolved into thin air. The site that met Lily's eyes made her gasp in awe. There before her were heaps and heaps of gold, silver, and bronze.  
"Is this- is this all yours?" Lily asked. Ronai nodded. Ronai reached for a pouch from within the depths of her cloak. She collected some gold and replaced in her pocket. They sat back in the cart and traveled back. The goblin jumped out and held the door open for them. Ronai stepped out quite gracefully, and Lily leapt out behind her. They left the bank and headed to a shop with a sign reading, "Flourish and Blotts," and bought the books that were listed on a piece of parchment in Ronai's hand. Lily gazed in awe at the many titles, such as "Simple Transfiguration: from toads to teapots," "Garden Pests: gnomes, jobberknolls, etc," "Quidditch through the Ages," and "The Adventures of Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle," a thin Frenchman who was always shown with a beret.  
Soon after, they headed to the Apothecary for potions ingredients, and after that, they went to "Madame Maulkin's Robes for All Occasions." A bell on the door jingled as they stepped into the cheery store.  
A middle-aged lady, who Lily supposed was Madame Maulkin, came over and said, "Hogwarts, dear?" Lily nodded and the lady led her onto a small raised platform. The woman bustled off for a moment and Ronai handed Lily the pouch of coins.  
"Here, Lily, take these. I have some business to attend to nearby at the Ministry, and I should be back in around an hour or so. Meanwhile, you should finish getting your robes, and you can go across the street to the Ice Cream Parlor."  
"Why do you have to go?" Lily asked as the seamstress returned. Ronai put a finger to her lips warningly and headed out the door. Lily sighed and gazed down at the measuring tapes. She glanced away, but then returned to watching the tapes, as they were acting quite oddly: they were measuring Lily themselves without anyone holding on to the ends! She raised her eyebrows and glanced out the window, just as a boy walked in with his father. It was the same boy who she had bumped into earlier that day. The man said something to the boy, who nodded, and left. The boy seemed to know what he was doing and climbed atop a platform himself. He turned and smiled at Lily.  
"Hello there," he said. Lily couldn't help but notice that he looked somewhat sickly.  
"Hello," Lily replied. There was a pause. "Sorry about running into earlier today. I've never traveled by fireplace before."  
"Don't worry about it! I didn't get hurt or anything." Another pause. "I suppose you're muggle-born?" Lily raised an eyebrow. "Yes, you are," the boy said with a smile. "It means that your parents aren't wizards and witches." "Yes," Lily said, "but how did you figure that out?" "Because you haven't traveled by floo-powder, you know, the fireplaces." Lily nodded her head in understanding. "Are you starting at Hogwarts then?" Lily nodded. "Well, so am I, so I'll just introduce myself now." He extended his hand and Lily shook it. "My name's Remus Lupin- what about you?"  
"Lily Evans."  
"Nice to meet you- I take it you haven't met any of our other fellows yet?"  
"No- you're the first."  
"I'm honored to be, Lily. Are you here alone?"  
"Yes- and you?" The boy nodded.  
"I was going to meet some of my friends after this, so if your parents aren't coming for you any time soon, you can come meet them."  
"Um, alright." Lily agreed. Two seamstresses came out to fit them, and the two children were silent for a few moments until Lily broke the silence. "Tell me about the magic world." Remus turned suddenly to her, probably at the shock of being asked something like that.  
"Do you know- I've never thought about that..."  
"What?"  
"Life without magic. I don't think I've ever wondered what I'd do without magic... Oh! Back to your question... Sorry about that- I tend to do that quite a lot, sad to say. What you've got to learn to do is to tell me to snap out of it." Lily nodded in a way that clearly said, 'uh-huh, whatever you say...' Remus seemed to notice and laughed.  
"Don't worry, Lily. I used to be even more out of it a few years ago. Whenever this happens in front of my grandmother, she says it's alright because every boy in the family is like that for a while, and we eventually grow out of it." Lily laughed. "But back to your question once again. Magic is wonderful. There's a spell for just about anything. You'll love the wizarding world, Lily. Even though I have a magic family, I still can't use magic at my age, so I understand what it's like to do things manually. Even after his first year, my older brother knew loads of magic." Two boxes suddenly floated out from the back of the store to each of them.  
"Six pairs of work robes, and the house patch will show something as soon as you're sorted," a lady said as she led them to the counters. After they both paid for their robes, they headed across the street to Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlor and sat down at a table. An odd man came out and asked them what flavors they would like, and soon after they were each eating a pralines 'n' cream and butterbeer double scoop ice cream.  
"What's your family like, Remus?" Lily asked. The boy set his cone down and leaned back, pondering the question.  
"Well, when we're younger, we're all pretty much the same, but as we get older, we each go our own way. I've seen all my cousins, and not one of them does the same thing. I've even got a third cousin, thrice removed- would you believe it- and he went to live as a muggle in Austria a few years back. Haven't heard from him since." Lily raised her eyebrows; who would want to give up magic for a normal life?  
"Remus!" shouted a boy, running over, "Sirius can't make it today- Pete and I think his mum jinxed him, because he can't say a word! Anyway, I took him to mum- hopefully she can fix him up." Suddenly he looked around. "Would you believe it- I thought Peter was with me this whole time. Damn- if he's lost, I don't know how we'll find him."  
"As long as he doesn't panic-"Remus started.  
"Hah!" the messy haired boy laughed. "As long as he doesn't panic! When has that ever happened? Peter can't stand being alone, and then it'll all be my fault! I hope he knows you were at Florean's." He sighed and turned. "I'd best be off- I'll go backtrack, but if he comes around here, Remus, just keep him with you, alright?" Remus nodded, and the other boy smiled at Lily and ran off.  
"What was that all about?" Lily laughed.  
"Well, that was James. He was looking for Peter, and they both came to tell me that Sirius wasn't feeling well. They're the friends I was supposed to be meeting."  
"Oh. Guess that didn't turn out very well."  
"Nope- but you'll get to know them better at school. Yes, it's still a couple of weeks, but you know, we all could owl."  
"I- wait- owl? As a verb?" Remus laughed.  
"Yes- I see you've had muggle-schooling. But yes- in the magic world, we use owls to deliver our post and stuff." At that minute, a girl their age plopped herself down between them with a triple scoop peanut butter ice cream and pulled her knees to her. A thin little boy followed her and sat across from her.  
"Hello, there, Remus!"  
"Hello, Caroline."  
"What's your name?" she asked Lily perkily.  
"Lily Evans."  
"Well, I'm Caroline Delphine Ausset. This is Nicholas Potter," she said briskly, pointing to the boy across the table. "And Remus, Petesie's heading over- just wanted to stop off at some shop over there," she said, vaguely gesturing towards the other side of the road.  
"Lily- this is my neighbor, Caroline, she'll be in our year. Nick is James' little brother. He'll start next year." The strawberry-blonde boy waved to Lily, who smiled. At that moment a somewhat plump boy shouted from across the street, "Remus! I've found James! He's right here!" Remus rose from his chair.  
"I'll be back in a few minutes."  
Caroline guffawed at this. "Oh, yes," she muttered. "Peter found James. Right- of course..." she turned to Lily. "So- excited about school?"  
"Yep," Lily answered.  
"So am I! I really want to meet the Bloody Baron. He sounds nice."  
  
"The who?"  
"The Bloody Baron," Caroline said. "He's the Slytherin ghost."  
"You mean that ghosts are real?"  
"Of course they are! We have one who joins us for dinner once in a while, George Rosier II. He doesn't eat, but he enjoys the conversation. I think his great grandson is going to start this year- I've met him, too, but he's not so nice. I hope I don't get sorted into his house." She opened a package and a brown frog immediately jumped out of it and Caroline's reach. Luckily, Lily's reflexes were too much for it. Caroline thanked her and got an oddly thoughtful look upon her face. "What?" Lily asked suspiciously. "I was just thinking- you would make an excellent seeker... You should definitely consider it. Want a chocolate frog?" Lily shrugged and accepted. She pocketed it, and then, suddenly Remus was coming back.  
"I think Sirius- "suddenly he was cut off by Ronai, who just arrived.  
"Lily! I'm so sorry for taking so long. We must finish off your shopping soon, so we must hurry."  
Lily picked up her boxes of robes and hurriedly said goodbye to Remus, Caroline, and Nicholas.  
"I'll owl you, Lily," said Remus, getting ready to leave also. Nicholas also rose and nodded.  
"See you on the train!" Caroline called. Lily waved over her shoulder with a grin.  
  
Hi, guys! Hope you all liked it- if you did, please review! 


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